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• In the contemporary times, more and more artists are trying to find new and innovative ways to express themselves
• Many contemporary Filipino artists turn to their cultural heritage and indigenous materials for inspiration
• The results are often exciting and surprising. These artworks are certainly avant-garde and yet rooted in Filipino culture
• These visual artists from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are praised not only for their talents but also for the innovative ways they use indigenous materials to create artworks that are uniquely Filipino
• Rodel Tapaya


  Hails from Bulacan, multi-awarded Filipino artist winning art contests here and abroad, got his break when he won the top prize in the Nokia Art Award, dominating other artists from the Asia-Pacific Region, was given the opportunity to study and train in New York and Finland, and eventually graduated at the UP College of Fine Arts
• Rodel Tapaya's paintings


  • Though he uses traditional medium, his paintings are not, he innovatively used subjects inspired by the culture and history of the Philippines, he also uses folk subjects and myths from Filipino folktales such as manananggals, tikbalangs, and Bernardo Carpio, to add symbolic meaning and relevance to his viewers, these mythical elements were used as a commentary on the ills of society today
• Rodel Tapaya's notable works


  • Mountain Fantasies uses the mythical Maria Makiling to warn us about greed and the destruction of the environment
• Dexter Sy


  Born in Manila in 1979, uses his mix heritage of being a Filipino-Chinese as his inspiration for many of his works, these offer personal insights and commentary on the life of a Filipino-Chinese, the result were artworks that were personal, self-deprecating, and honest, his works study the differences and clash that arise from having a diverse and sometimes contradicting cultural heritage
• Dexter Sy's approach to art


  • Art for him is not just about the piece itself but also the research that goes with it, the research often takes a more significant time rather than the actual work on art, he uses his researches as the basis for his art concepts, since for him without this story and history, there will be no art
• Dexter Sy's notable works

  • The Self-Recognized by the Others (2015) is a portrait of Sy's Family with faces painted in black and white similar to that of the American rock band, Kiss, he used this as an analogy to not generalize, as he explained that in the Philippines, when people find out that you are a Filipino-Chinese they automatically assume that you are wealthy which is not always true, the background is filled with symbols and imagery from both Chinese and Filipino cultures, DNA (2015) is an installation by SY, he used the ubiquitous Good Morning towels as his chief medium, these inexpensive hand towels made in China with the word "Good Morning" printed on them are often used by Filipino workers and children to wipe their sweat away, these towels were hung from the ceiling and interwoven with textile with indigenous Filipino designs to stimulate a double helix strand of a DNA, this installation was an amusing analogy of his Filipino-Chinese lineage
• Ronald Riel Jaramillo Hilario


  Born in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur in 1976, belonged to a family who was famous at creating wood-carved santos and furnitures, learned rebulto-carving from his uncle Jose Lazo Jr., a local wood-carver, uses his family's wood crafting heritage as an inspiration for his artworks, describes himself as a contemporary artist that uses traditional wood-carving techniques, his sculptural works give the unmistakable feel of the wood-carved religious iconography of Catholicism, believes that these sculptures should not just be artifacts of our past but as expressions of our world-views, and thus our sense of identity, uses his inherited culture as a jumping off point to his artistic development
• In 2004, Hilario was chosen by the NCCA to be one of the artists to exhibit for the Sungdu-an 3, a national travelling exhibition, this event cemented his legitimacy as a contemporary Filipino artist, his works have brought him to different museums all over the Philippines and has been invited to show pieces in Taiwan, New York, South Korea, and Brazil
• Hilario has won numerous awards and recognitions, one of the prestigious awards was being one of the awardees of the Thirteen Artists Awards (TAA) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines
• Clifford Espinosa


  A Filipino architect, artist and environmentalist, believes that functional things can be at the same time beautiful as seen in his furniture, his interest in art was already apparent since he was a child, spending his spare time drawing and sketching, when in college, he started exploring and experimenting with carving, and was trained by renowned activist and sculptor Jerry Araos, from there, he had designed and created sculptural and functional masterpieces
• Clifford Espinosa's approach


  • Gets inspiration from indigenous forms of crafts, applies the techniques he learned from these traditional crafts on his own work, such as assembling and creating furniture without the use of nails, measures and cuts each piece of wood perfectly so that each piece fails securely into place, believes that by replicating these indigenous techniques, he also preserves and honors our heritage, is also an environmentalist and that is why he focused on green architecture, creates artworks from secondhand wood which he buys from scrapyards to show people the beauty of recycling, and to teach the younger generation of conservation
• Clifford Espinosa's notable works

  • LuzViMin, made of three separate tables that can function on its own, but when assembled together, it becomes an impressive long table, he made it to show that a united country achieves many great things
• John Paul Antido


  Born in Antipolo in 1982, a Filipino contemporary painter whose works are characterized by his use of impasto techniques- bright vivid colors, his Filipino heritage can be seen in his figurative subjects where people are in contemporary settings, but are depicted wearing traditional Filipino costumes such as the baro't saya, bakya, etc., his paintings are said to be an allegory of the situation of the Filipinos where their psyche seem to live in two contradicting eras when compared to the global situation
• Ricky Ambagan


  Looks to the present Filipino daily grind for inspiration in his collection of paintings entitled "Mga Langgam Sa Syudad", his collection of fifteen paintings on burlap depicts the chaotic and crowded streets of Manila, one of his paintings replicates a captured candid movement in the midst of transit using distortion as a style, he compared the city dwellers to ants that are overly preoccupied with their own businesses, he finds interest in the impermanence of things which he tries to capture in his art
• Ricky Ambagan's approach


  Goes around the city with his digital camera in tow, anonymously photographs the people going about their everyday lives, he then downloads the images which he distorts with the use of computer, the resulting image is what he uses as reference to make his almost hyperrealistic paintings
• Ricky Ambagan believes that his work is a way to honor the masses, since most would not be able to see his works, he instead put the masses into his works
• Aze Ong


  Known for her colorful and organic forms made of crocheted threads, grew up in Antipolo City, as there were no ethnic groups in her community, she always felt that she was constantly looking for her identity as she grew up, until she volunteered as a teacher in Kibangay, Lantapan Bukidnon for a year in 1999 for the Associate Missionaries of the Assumption (AMA), most of her students belonged to the Talaandig group and she immersed herself in their culture and tradition, the creative process involved in her creation of her crocheted masterpieces are parallel with the Talaandigs, her inspiration are from within and nature, she often invoke the "spirits" to guide her craft, she does not use any patterns when she creates her works and is one of the reasons why each and every piece she make is unique and original, her emotions are often expressed in her artworks making each one very personal, art for her is a way of life, she also loves to make artworks that she can use such as dresses, jewelries, bags, jackets, and blankets
• Aze Ong's approach to exhibits


  If you attend any of her exhibits, she opens with performances of ritual and dances to ask for guidance from the gods and goddesses as to celebrate the ritual of creation, she believes that the creation of art should be shared with the audience and an exhibit is its main celebration
• Success and recognition did not come easy for Aze Ong, using crochet as her medium, it was first not accepted in galleries and other spaces, she says that her works were intentionally left outside the museum for exhibit in art competitions, there were times that the event organizers would not accept her medium and singled her out
• Eventually, through the years, museums and institutions finally saw its uniqueness and finally accepted her works, she credits her determination and not giving up on her success, especially in a male-dominated field, she did not let the discouragement and doubt stop her from her purpose; which is to show her art to others
• Alma Quinto


  Born in 1961 in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, an artist, teacher, and cultural worker who uses her talent and art to help communities that have been affected by natural and human-made calamities, believes that art has a social responsibility to the community, and that art can be used as a tool for healing and collaboration
• Since 1995, Alma Quinto has partnered with different charitable and socio-civic organizations here and abroad to bring healing and awareness, such as her partnerships with the CRIBS foundation and Bantay Bata with whom she teach and encourage the children to use art as an outlet so that they can discover the good in themselves and in turn become stronger to confront the many hardships they have encountered in their young life
• Alma Quinto illustrated a number of books including for On The Night of Sendong: Narratives of Children Survivors, which shared the accounts of the children survivors of the typhoon Sendong, that hit Cagayan de Oro in 2011, her works have been shown in numerous museums such as the CCP, the Lopez Museum, the Yuchengco Museum and various countries such as Norway and Japan in 2005
• Alma Quinto's style


  • She describes her style as "not static", since her art projects often involve marginalized communities she often needs to adapt to communicate and collaborate in order to connect with people and in turn learn from their experiences, her themes are often about serious social issues but in order to connect with a broader range of audience, she makes her installations and soft sculptures sexy
• Alma Quinto's themes

  • Serious social issues
  • Makes installations and soft sculptures sexy, whimsical, playful and colorful to connect with a broader range of audience, especially the young
  • Advocates empowerment of children through the use of Philippine cultural icons to depict narratives of girl survivors of abuse
  • Grounds her work on Filipino culture and heritage to strengthen identity
• Lawig


  Means "umbilical cord" in Hiligaynon, referring to the unique relationship between the neighboring islands of Negros and Panay
• Nunelucio Alvarado


  • Prominent artist in the Philippines and Southeast Asia since the 1970s
  • Often uses his work to create awareness of the Sakadas of Negros and other marginalized people
  • His paintings are often rooted in the problems his home province faces, namely injustice and poverty
  • His early works illustrated the sugar farmers indebted from birth to the land owners
  • His paintings are bold in expression and emotion, with figures facing front and hierarchical in scale
  • His more recent "BABAYE" collection depicts women of the Visayas in a massive and symbolic way, with ornamentation of spikes, thorns and zigzag patterns
• Manuel Pañares


  • Cebuano painter known for his historical-themed realistic paintings of Cebu and Mindanao's historical events
  • Spends days and months researching and studying every detail to ensure historical accuracy
  • His collection "Sugbo sa Karaang Panahon" features paintings of the pre-colonial Visayas and Mindanao tribes
• Martino Abellana


  • Acknowledged as the "Dean of Cebuano Painters"
  • In-demand muralist and portraiture artist, known for his seascapes
  • Served as a great inspiration and influence to generations of Visayan artists
• Mariano "Anoy" Amar Catague


  • Davao artist who depicts the Lumads in his figurative paintings
  • Passionate about bringing awareness to the social injustices the Lumad natives are experiencing
  • Emphasizes facial expressions, especially the eyes, and enlarges and ornaments the hands and feet of his figures
  • Also a chronicler, having videographed the Lumadnon theater group Kaliwat Theater Collective
• Rameer Tawasil


  • Zamboanga artist who paints colorful Muslim vintas to create a revival of the iconic symbol
  • Uses vibrant and bold colors, applying indigenous Muslim motifs inspired by the okirs of the Maranao
  • His works are very popular and exhibited internationally
• Saudi Ahmad


  • One of Mindanao's greatest painters, based in Sibugay, Zamboanga
  • His works are inspired by the rich culture and tradition of the Filipino Muslims, often depicting genre paintings of community life
  • Uses a unique "subtraction" technique where he applies and then erases watercolor to create intricate patterns
• Bert Monterona


  • Mixed media artist known for innovative use of indigenous materials like bark-like tapestry paintings and bamboo stick paintings
  • Depicts Filipino myths, rituals and traditions with native motifs and figures in traditional costumes
  • Uses his art to give commentaries on social issues like human rights, economic conditions and feminism
• Abdulmari Asia Imao


  • One of the most well-known visual artists from Sulu, Mindanao
  • Recognized as a National Artist in 2006
  • Stylized depictions of indigenous motifs like okir, sarimanok, and naga, as well as elements inspired by his Muslim faith such as calligraphy and arabesque patterns